Tristan Jankovics & Blake Tierney Earn First Olympic Berths (Day 2 Canadian Qualifiers Update)

2024 CANADIAN OLYMPIC & PARALYMPIC TRIALS

• May 13-19, 2024
• Toronto Pan Am Sports Centre – Toronto, Ontario
• LCM (50 meters)
• Meet Central
• How To Watch
• Swimming Canada Olympic Selection Criteria
• Psych Sheets (Updated 05/10)
• Live Results
• Prelims – Day 1 Recap | Day 2 Recap
• Finals – Day 1 Recap | Day 2 Recap

Three more swimmers earned Priority 1 status for qualification to Canada’s Olympic team on night two of the Olympic and Paralympic Trials.

Through the first night, the men’s side had no priority qualifications. Finlay Knox was their lone qualifier with Priority 2 status courtesy of his win in the 100 breaststroke. But that changed quickly as Tristan Jankovics, Blake Tierney, and Javier Acevedo all earned Priority 1 status for the official team announcement at the end of the meet.

CANADIAN OLYMPIC SELECTION PRIORITIES:

Note: For a full description of each priority category, click on the selection criteria link above. (Updated April 15, 2024)

• Priority One: The first and second placed swimmers in the ‘A’ final who earn the Olympic Qualifying Time (OQT)
• Priority Two – Relay Nominations: The relay time add-up of the top four-placed swimmers in the 100 and 200 freestyles. For the medley relays, the relay add-up will be reached with the times of the top qualifiers from the 100 back, 100 breast, 100 fly, and 100 free. If a swimmer wins multiple 100s, then the times of second-place swimmer in those events will be considered.
• Priority Three: If no swimmer or only one swimmer at the 2024 Canadian Trials earns an OQT in an event, then a swimmer who’s achieved an OQT within the qualifying period and finished top two at Trials will be nominated.
• Priority Four: In an event that does not have any nominations through Priorities 1-3, then an event winner who has achieved on Olympic Consideration Time and swims within 1% of their fastest time in the qualification window at Trials will be provisionally nominated. World Aquatics sent out a memo that Olympic “B” cut swimmers may not qualify because of the athlete quotas. An athlete who hits a “B” cut here but who has an “A” cut from another Olympic qualifying meet in the qualification period, though, wouldn’t be subject to those World Aquatics limits.
• Priority Five: The selection committee has the discretion to nominate eligible swimmers to improve relays at the advice of the High Performance Director

Jankovics got the night started with a bang. The Ohio State swimmer dropped over five seconds over the course of the day; in finals, he tore to the win in 4:11.74, getting under the Olympic Qualifying Time of 4:12.50. With the swim, Jankovics becomes the first man to represent Canada at the Olympics in the 400 IM since 2012. He came into the meet with a personal best of 4:17.40 and now sits at 11th in the world this season as he looks toward his first Olympic Games.

“I mean, it’s my childhood dream to be there. I just want to enjoy it. Do my best and represent this country to the fullest,”said Jankovics after his race.

Jankovics was not the only swimmer to qualify for their first Olympics tonight. Later, Blake Tierney won a tight race in the men’s 100 backstroke in an Olympic Qualifying Time of 53.48–securing his first Olympic Games berth. That swim is also a big personal best for Tierney; he got under the OQT leading off Canada’s medley relay in Doha with a 53.65 but lowered that time to 53.48 in the final.

The 22-year-old Tierney held off a charging Javier Acevedo, who finished second and also under the OQT in 53.55. The icing on the cake for Acevedo, who made his third Olympic team with the swim, is that it’s his first best time in the event since the 2017 Canadian Trials.

On the women’s side, Summer McIntosh and Mary-Sophie Harvey both got under the Olympic Qualifying Time in the 200 freestyle. McIntosh swam 1:53.69, just missing her own Canadian record by four-hundredths. Though she’s expected to not race this event individually in Paris, the swim ranks second-fastest in the world this season and 12th fastest all time.

Harvey continued to show that she’s at the top of her game this season. She even-split her race in the final, going 57.69/57.75 en route to a new personal best and Quebec provincial record of 1:55.44. Harvey earned her first individual Olympic qualification last night in the 100 butterfly and picked up another event here as the second place finisher.

Julie Brousseau bounced back finishing second just outside the OQT in the 400 freestyle on night 1. She touched third in a personal best of 1:57.60, earning a spot on Canada’s 4×200 free relay. She missed the OQT (1:57.26) again though, which means that she likely will not get to race the event individually if McIntosh scratches. Emma O’Croinin rounds out the relay in fourth (1:57.86), making her first Olympic team along with Brousseau, Jankovics, and Tierney.

Finally, Sophie Angus won a tight race in the women’s 100 breaststroke. She got her hands on the wall four-hundredths ahead of Kelsey Wog, clocking 1:06.96. Though she missed the OQT, she still earns Priority 3 status as the medley relay needs a breaststroker. She was under the OQT at the 2024 World Championships (1:06.66) and finished in the top two which means that she could still earn an individual berth under Priority 5. But since Priority 3 supersedes Priority 5, that’s where we’ve slotted her.

Editor’s note: Swimming Canada updated the selection criteria on April 1. The priorities below reflect the updated criteria.

PRIORITY 1 SWIMS THRU DAY 1 (OLYMPIC A CUTS, TOP 2):

• Summer McIntosh — women’s 400 freestyle (3:59.06)
• Maggie MacNeil — women’s 100 butterfly (56.61)
• Mary-Sophie Harvey — women’s 100 butterfly (57.32)
• Tristan Jankovics – men’s 400 IM (4:11.74)
• Summer McIntosh – women’s 200 freestyle (1:53.69)
• Mary-Sophie Harvey – women’s 200 freestyle (1:55.44)
• Blake Tierney — men’s 100 backstroke (53.48)
• Javier Acevedo — men’s 100 backstroke (53.55)

PRIORITY 2 SWIMS THRU DAY 2 (FREE RELAY TOP 4S and Medley Relay Top 1s):

• Julie Brousseau — women’s 200 freestyle (1:57.60) *also an Olympic ‘B’ cut
• Emma O’Croinin — women’s 200 freestyle (1:57.86)
• Finlay Knox — men’s 100 breast (1:00.66)
• Sophie Angus — women’s 100 breast (1:06.96) *also has an Olympic “A” cut from a prior meet

PRIORITY 3 SWIMS THRU DAY 2: (OLYMPIC “A” CUTS AT OTHER MEETS + TOP 2 AT TRIALS):

• None

PRIORITY 4 SWIMS THRU DAY 2: (OLYMPIC “B” TIMES + Event Winner – UNLIKELY TO BE INVITED):

• None

PRIORITY 5 SWIMS THRU DAY 2 (EXTRA RELAY SWIMMERS):

• To be announced

SWIMMERS WITH OLYMPIC A/B CUTS WHO DIDN’T PLACE HIGH ENOUGH:

A cuts:

• Rebecca Smith – women’s 100 fly (57.89) (3rd place finisher)

B cuts:

• Julie Brousseau — women’s 400 freestyle (4:08.12) (Winner under the A cut)
• Lorne Wigginton — men’s 400 IM (4:13.60) (Winner under the A cut)
• Aiden Norman — men’s 100 backstroke (53.99) (3rd place finisher)
• Kelsey Wog — women’s 100 breaststroke (1:07.00) (Winner has an A cut/chosen for relay, Wog doesn’t have an A cut in the qualifying period)